Alstom's Nuclear-Equipment Business Would Remain in France, GE Executive Says

PARIS—Alstom SA's nuclear-equipment business wouldn't leave France, a senior General Electric Co. executive said Saturday in an attempt to assuage government concerns that GE's $17 billion bid for most of the French firm will drain the country of sensitive technology and jobs.

In a radio interview, GE's top executive in France, Clara Gaymard, tried to blunt the sharp criticism France's government has leveled at the American firm's acquisition plans. Paris has deemed Alstom's power-equipment operation—which represents...